This summer, I spent four weeks in Europe, in Southern Spain and Portugal, with my family and then at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Porto.

Here’s the start of our trip. A long direct flight from Oakland to Barcelona, followed by a connecting flight to Granada means we were transported within a day right into the heart of Andalucia. I love places where cultures meet: they always produce the best art (and food!). The Moorish influence in this region is everywhere.

I used two types of sketchbooks: a wirebound 9×12 inch Beta and a softcover 8×10 inch Alpha, both from Stillman & Birn. The smaller Alpha was key to being able to do smaller, quicker sketches while traveling with my family. Next time, I might go even smaller in size so I end up pulling that book out more often and capturing more little stuff.

This is my very first sketch the morning I woke up in Alhambra. Every where you look, there are tiny cafes that you can sit at to have a drink and some tapas. In a new place, I always struggle with the quality of light and the colors for a few days. For a while, I feel like I have visual information overload and the only way past that is to draw and paint through it. Do you feel like that in a new place?

This quick sketch is just to say “When I crane my neck and look up and out from my hotel window, I can see a wee bit of The Alhambra.”

Here’s my first sketch at the Alhambra.

And a spread from my Alpha sketchbook, over lunch and then inside the palace. The tilework at the Alhambra is spectacular. I could have spent days in there, looking at it and sketching the different patterns.

I loved the spaces too: they’re always designed to be human-scale, and even the grandest rooms aren’t so large they overwhelm you. And the screened windows and courtyards with orange trees make you wish you could spend a whole day there with a good book.

Here’s a sketch of a random little cobbled street. The occasional car did drive through, but for the most part, this was a walking street.

You can see The Alhambra on top of the hill from all over town. I sketched it over and over again. This view is from Albaicín, the neighborhood we stayed in.

And this one is from Mirador de San Nicolás, a viewpoint on top of a nearby hill.

A little ‘palace’ (really, a grand house) that we visited in the narrow lanes of Albaicín.

And a few sketches from a flamenco performance at an intimate little space called Le Chien Andalou. Traveling through football-crazy Spain and Portugal during the World Cup brought an additional dimension to our travels. Recorded in my sketchbook are bits about the matches (see the guy on the top right).

That’s it from Granada but there’s lots more sketches to come, these many books worth of them!

Always love your captures and helpful info! I’ve been thinking about doing wedding sketches in a little book like this. It would have to be an extremely mobile way to work. What’s your favorite, most mobile way to paint with the watercolor? I would love to hear! Thank you.

Yes size is always a consideration when traveling. I brought to Porto a Perfect SKetchbook from Erwin in Singapore, about 8×10 and my fearless felt journal which is about 6×6.5.. I used both and filled up all the paper I brought.. BTW that sketch of Palicia De Dar al Horra is wonderful. Hope to see you soon..

The airport scene is fantastic! Featuring luggage with the handles extended…delightful.
As for your wonderful sketches of Granada and the Alhambra, thanks for warm reminders of my trip there only a few years ago.

Thanks Suhita. We were also in Granada, prior to going to Porto, so it’s very interesting to see your take on the city. I used my 8 x 10 Stillman and Birn for the whole trip and found it to be a hood size. Looking forward to seeing more of your sketches.

Beautiful sketches. My Dad was a graphic artist but can’t paint now and unfortunately I didn’t inherit any of his talent. So I just write. It is great to see an artist with such a fantastic eye as yours.

Hi Suhita, I love the bottom left design! Big favor to ask: may I use it as the basis for an SVG tutorial on my (free, open source) Widgeteria blog? The idea would be to show how the various design items can be re-created using hand-crafted computer graphics code. many thanks.

Thank you! I am in the process of rethinking how best to structure my site: should it be by SVG design artifacts (such as, say, stars) or should it be by recreating various Islamic design patterns.? My feeling is that it should be a little bit of both. If you have a better resolution image of that particular mural, which I am naming after you in my blog, could you please send it to me? Thanks for the trouble!